Cooking food items in a microwave is often convenient because it takes a much shorter time to cook the food item than in a conventional oven. Microwavable food items, however, often suffer in quality despite their convenience. For example, frequently food items turn out soggy rather than having the crisping and browning characteristics achieved when cooking in a conventional oven. This is particularly true for meats (i.e., chicken, white fish, salmon, pork chops, etc.) cooked in a microwave oven which lack the appearance and taste acquired by cooking on a stove top or in a conventional oven.
A susceptor material may be used to aid the cooking of a food item in a microwave oven. The susceptor material is typically constructed of a material suitable for absorbing, transmitting, or reflecting microwave energy to cook food. Typically the susceptor material includes a metallic layer on a substrate material such as a rigid cardboard or paper. The susceptor/substrate combination is sold with frozen food items and is used to aid in the cooking of the food items in a microwave oven. Although current susceptor materials provide an improvement in cooking food in a microwave without a susceptor material, they still do not provide the browning and crisping of a quality that approaches the quality achieved when a food item is cooked in a conventional oven. Therefore, there is a need for improved bags and sheet materials utilizing a susceptor for cooking food items in a microwave.